Sen. Jeff
Rabon on Tuesday criticized the recent House passage of a resolution
encouraging the Attorney General to defend the state in a federal
lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s moratorium
on the out-of-state sales of Oklahoma water.

Approval of House Concurrent Resolution 1088, Rabon said, amounted
to little more than political grandstanding.

“Given that a federal lawsuit challenging the moratorium
is still pending, passage of a resolution expressing intent to extend
the moratorium is senseless,” said Rabon, D-Hugo. “It’s
nothing more than posturing. I’ll be doing everything in my
power to guarantee this isn’t heard in the Senate.”

In January 2007, the Tarrant Regional Water District, serving
Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas, filed the lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s
moratorium on out-of-state water sales. Initially approved by the
Legislature in 2002, the moratorium in 2004 was extended until November
1, 2009, or until the state completes a comprehensive scientific
hydrological study of water resources.

The Texas proposal seeks to make use of runoff water which flows
from the Kiamichi River into the Red River. Officials from the Oklahoma
Water Resources Board estimate that between 1.5 and 1.7 million
acre feet of water empties each year from the Kiamichi River into
the Red River, where it becomes too salty to be used as drinking
water.

“Without having a completed study from which to reference
and without having a settled opinion on the constitutionality of
the moratorium, it makes absolutely no sense to offer, let alone
approve this resolution,” Rabon said. “The original
statute is what got us into federal court in the first place. It’s
an issue that demands a more measured approach, rather than being
reduced to an opportunity for grandstanding.”